March 2004 - Posts

• Enabling Journal integration with Office 2003

  Here's something that may be of interest to some tablet users. It was certainly a solution I had been trying to find for a while. When the Tablet PC was released, Office XP wasn't quite ink friendly, so Microsoft released the Microsoft Office XP Pack for Tablet PC (Tablet Pack) to add the necessary features. Then Office 2003 launched, and it had all the ink functionality of the Tablet Pack (and more) already inside. That would make the Tablet Pack pretty unnecessary for Office 2003 users. Well, not exactly. Apart from enabling ink in Office, the Tablet Pack also added a link to Outlook into Journal. That way you could convert handwriting into e-mails, tasks, contacts, and appointments, as well as insert Outlook appointment details into notes. However, trying to install the Tablet Pack on a system with Office 2003 fails, and there is no alternative download to enable the Outlook features in Journal. However, the installer can be massaged into giving you the expected results - it just takes a few more steps. This is directly from some folks who know how their own software works, but at the same time it is completely unsupported. So if it messes up your software, wipes out your data, fries your tablet, destroys your livelihood, and makes the sun go supernova, you have nobody but yourself to blame. With the obligatory warnings out of the way, here are the instructions: Download the Tablet Pack Open up a command prompt, navigate to the directory where you saved the downloaded file and execute the following: opsetup.exe /c:"msiexec /a ""Microsoft Office XP Pack for Tablet PC.msi""" All the double quotes are required. This will launch an installation wizard. When prompted for the installation location, specify C:\Program Files\Tablet Pack In a command prompt, navigate to the following path: C:\Program Files\Tablet Pack\program files\Tablet Pack Yes, the names are sort of "duplicated" within the path itself, but that's correct. Execute regsvr32 nbtag.dll A dialog box should confirm the successful registration of the library. When you launch Journal, you should now have all the extra Outlook integration options. If you get a prompt about enabling the add-in functionality, see KB Article 820883 for a list of resolution methods. To remove the Outlook integration, close Journal, and follow steps 4 and 5, but substitute the following command: regsvr32 /u nbtag.dll And there you have it - a relatively quick and easy way to integrate Journal with Office 2003. Again, it's completely unsupported, but seems to work just fine. Enjoy. Posted Mar 31 2004, 09:32 PM by peter with 1 comment(s)

• A tablet Mac - tomorrow?!

  Alright, this has to be an April Fools' Day joke. Layne just sent me a link to an article, dated tomorrow, that states that Apple will unveil a new tablet Mac, based on their 15" PowerBook, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on board. The display will rotate much like today's convertible Tablet PCs, and the screen will be touch sensitive. A new version of AppleWorks - release 7 - is supposed to accompany the tablet. It should feature new tools that take advantage of the touch screen, and even some sort of Web authoring application to work with .Mac accounts. A touch-screen compatible update to the iLife suite is said to be in the works. Yeah right! All that sounds too good to be true - and yet somehow disappointingly not revolutionary - on a good day, but with an April 1 publication date, who will believe it? Nice try, PC Pro. Posted Mar 31 2004, 08:59 PM by peter with no comments

• When will biometric security become common?

  Last week, Gateway announced that one of their notebooks will be outfitted with a fingerprint sensor. When will biometric authentication finally become common on Tablet PCs? The sensor chips seem to be relatively inexpensive to implement. The technology work reasonably well for mainstream use, and people even seem to like it. So why aren't more OEMs offering biometrics at least as an optional extra? Would you want a biometric solution protecting your portable computer? Do you already have something like that in place? Posted Mar 31 2004, 04:47 PM by peter with no comments

• Sony's new electronic book

  I, for one, personally like Sony's new Librié e-book device. 170 DPI, based on E-Ink's charged particle display, and its 4 AAA batteries can supposedly last through 10,000 pages. Not bad. 10 MB of memory and a Memory Stick Pro slot (eww!). 190 grams, a USB 2.0 port, a keypad, speaker, and earphone jack, with voice recording as a supported function. Sony will even have an unlimited book subscription for the equivalent of $1.98. All that is fine and dandy, until you notice that the device costs $376! Way too much, as cool as it may be. That's why a lot of naysayers claim that e-book technology in such form is a waste of time. I don't think so. The only hurdle is the price of the device, which has to fall to $50 or less. It has to be disposable, so when you dunk it in the pool, you can relatively painlessly get a new one. Even give them away - subsidized - like wireless companies sell cheap cell phones with a committed service contract. It would never replace a Tablet PC for me, but a cheap, light and thin, long-lasting little device like that would probably drag me over to the electronic side of reading much faster than having to worry about a comparatively bulky Tablet PC that costs way too much to risk it in many common situations, where a cheap book could normally go. Posted Mar 31 2004, 04:34 PM by peter with no comments

• Why can't the Wi talk to the Fi?

  A spokesperson from the Wi-Fi Alliance recently stated: "About 22 per cent of the devices - such as wireless networking cards for computers, access ports and printer servers - submitted for testing at four partner laboratories failed to work on a network on the first try." I totally believe that. We have over a hundred regular users of our campus wireless network, with many more that come and go, and configuring everybody's system is a nightmare. Between driver issues, different hardware brands, operating system problems, ASCII and HEX key variations, and a plethora of other variables, we average about 5% of systems that we just can't persuade to work and connect properly, no matter what we try. And we've had three years of experience with the wireless gear by now. No wonder home users never bother about securing their wireless networks - just getting connected to your router is sometimes a harrowing ordeal. So much for a practical value of industry standards. Posted Mar 31 2004, 04:21 PM by peter with no comments

• Pricey wireless up in the air

  Boeing recently revealed how much it will cost to use its wireless Internet solutions on flights. Anywhere from $14.95 from short flights to $29.95 for long hauls, both for unlimited access to the service. Ouch! Shorter, pay as you go plans will also be available, but they are also pretty expensive. Considering that you still have to buy one of those overpriced airline power adaptors to stay online for a longer period of time, I don't think I'll be using in-flight Wi-Fi anytime soon. $300+ for the airline ticket. $10 for a less than tasty meal. $20 for Internet access. Feeling like a poorly fed, but connected sardine for many hours - priceless. Posted Mar 31 2004, 04:12 PM by peter with no comments

• UK ISVs getting on the tablet bandwagon

  Developers in the UK recently had a chance to attend a one-year Tablet PC anniversary (...of what - a European launch?) event, and Microsoft also presented results of a survey, which encouragingly seems to indicate that by the end of 2005, over two thirds of UK developers will be working on tablet applications. Sounds good. On a more disappointing note, version 1.7 of the Tablet PC SDK seems to be scheduled for release only around the time SP2 ships. I still wish developers could easily get their hands on the current build, even if it's just a release candidate. Posted Mar 31 2004, 04:06 PM by peter with no comments

• Whidbey technology preview - the silent frontier

  Last week Microsoft released the Community Technology Preview for Visual Studio 2005 to MSDN subscribers. Is it me, or has it been met with an underwhelming level of indifference? Before, everybody was anxiously waiting for new Whidbey bits, and now nobody cares anymore? Is it that bad?! Posted Mar 31 2004, 03:53 PM by peter with no comments

• Automatic blogging from Outlook

  Kunal, who has been experimenting with ink blogging over at inkabletype, is now working on a nifty new application - Outlook MT. It pretty much does what Robert Scoble asked for recently - it monitors a designated folder in Outlook and posts whatever you drag in there. Definitely something I desperately want! Since .Text doesn't have an e-mail to blog mechanism (like dasBlog, for example), something like this would make my life a lot easier at times. Unfortunately, right now Movable Type is the only supported blogging system. However, since Loren has agreed to help Kunal test the application, they should just get together, and add Loren's blogging code from his brilliant WebcamNotes to Outlook MT, so that the application could post to a variety of systems. Hint, hint. Posted Mar 31 2004, 03:48 PM by peter with no comments

• Table PCs and having dinner at the tablet

  Yes! Somebody has the same problem as me! And I thought I was just a really bad typist (hush, I know I am). Loren is having problems switching between the words "tablet" and "table" too. I am committing way to many errors these days because of that. Then once I force myself to write "table" without the extra letter, I begin misspelling "tablet" when I need it. And I thought Tablet PCs were supposed to make us all write better! Posted Mar 31 2004, 01:00 PM by peter with no comments

• Getting rid of TIP launch buttons

  I meant to bring this up sooner, but I keep forgetting. Ever since I have been using Lonestar, the taskbar icon for the TIP is pretty much redundant. I hate seeing the TIP docked (which is what clicking the icon usually does), and the little button pops up over text fields as necessary while using the pen, so there really is no need to bring up the TIP the "old fashioned" way. And you always have the back-and-forth shake gesture available to bring it up even without the icon. So since Lonestar, I remapped the soft button on my Compaq tablet to launch Journal (and the Journal icon to launch OneNote - don't ask, the icons just make more sense visually in my head that way), and I got rid of the taskbar icon (and the space it takes up around itself). As a recent comment illustrates, some people may not be aware of the undocumented (but frequently mentioned) way to accomplish this. Just open up a command prompt (or the Run dialog box) and execute the following, including the double quotes (because of the spaces in the file path): regsvr32 /u "c:\program files\common files\microsoft shared\ink\tipband.dll" This won't appear to do anything, but after you reboot, the icon should be gone. If you want to bring it back, execute the following and reboot: regsvr32 "c:\program files\common files\microsoft shared\ink\tipband.dll" A word of warning here: when you bring the TIP back, your taskbar toolbars and icons are very likely to end up moved around or hidden, so you may have to play with things to get them back to the way they were before. Posted Mar 31 2004, 12:53 PM by peter with 2 comment(s)

• My first publication, sort of

  Alright, call me too excited, but today I got my copy of O'Reilly's Windows Server Hacks. Of course, it's not my book, as it has been put together by Mitch Tulloch, but Hack #52 - Set the Default Printer Based on Location - is my creation. Nothing exciting, just a little bit of VBScript in a logon script deployed by a Group Policy. It does pretty much what you would expect. However, for some reason, people found it interesting, and one time I even helped some network administrator with a derivative version of the code, which he was trying to get to work. Anyway, I'm still excited. It's my first ever snippet in a mainstream publication. The book is actually a pretty useful compendium of little dirty tricks that can save a network administrator some time in their usually already busy day. And O'Reilly's list price is a very reasonable $24.95. Yay, I'm published! I wonder if it's time for Tablet PC Hacks yet - that could certainly be an interesting collection. Posted Mar 31 2004, 12:37 PM by peter with 1 comment(s)

• A few new places to unwire

  Intel's "Unwire" advertising is everywhere these days, and as a mobile user, I am always on the lookout for more places that offer fast wireless connectivity. Of course, living in Delaware, it's difficult to find hotspots period, not to even mention free ones. On the other hand, SBC Communications seems to be on a roll across the country, clearly competing with T-Mobile's network of wireless hotspots. First SBC announced that they will provide add their network to thousands of UPS Stores and Mail Boxes Etc. locations. And now comes news that SBC will provide free wireless service for baseball fans attending games at the home ballpark of the San Francisco Giants. Now if only the prices could come down a little. I go to my local Borders stores frequently, but most of the time I just use a GPRS connection through my phone. It's slower, but I have a fixed cellular bill with T-Mobile, and the extra speed is rarely worth the price to me. Posted Mar 31 2004, 08:54 AM by peter with no comments

• Sony's new retail stores

  Sony is planning to open more retail stores to promote its consumer electronics. Sort of like the Apple ones - not too much inventory, but more of a showcase of the technology and how the products work together. I still wish Microsoft could open a chain of Windows Experience stores to promote a lot of the neat development they have done, but people don't really utilize or even know about. Even basic features of Windows XP, for that matter. Now would be a good time, too, as Redmond still needs a plan to get people excited about Windows XP, to make them forget nothing much else is coming for two years. And while Sony is apparently planning a bunch of new products, there are still no news about a possible Vaio Tablet PC. Maybe they are waiting for Service Pack 2 to ship? I wish. It would be mighty expensive, but at least it would look pretty. Posted Mar 31 2004, 08:37 AM by peter with no comments

• Give me a tablet for my shower

  Every so often there is talk about new hardware designs and having computers in "fixed" locations. Here is what I want. A thin slate tablet mounted into the wall in my shower. Waterproof, of course. With a tethered pen that has a nice rubbery grip. Synchronized with the rest of my network (that would be the big technology hurdle, not the rest of my demands). Great speech recognition that could deal with the shower noise (OK, that's another thorny bit). I frequently have a lot of good ideas I want to write about in the morning, in the shower, but after I get out I have to get ready to leave, so all the inspiration eventually floats away. If I could quickly jot things down - since I have nothing else to do at the time - I'd capture more thoughts than I manage now. Of course, I'm not fooling anybody - I'd want these wall-mounted tablets all over the house, controlling pretty much everything they could, and showing me my upcoming appointment and task lists, as well as weather and headlines, as I head out the door. And yes, I know, I have the SPOT watch for all that, but it still seems like a good idea to me. Posted Mar 31 2004, 07:19 AM by peter with 1 comment(s)